Islamabad: Pakistan’s President has summoned a session of the upper house of Parliament April 9 for the election of Senate chairman and deputy chairman amid opposition by jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party over voting for top slots in an “incomplete house”.
According to an announcement by the President House Sunday night, President Zardari has summoned the Senate to meet in the Parliament House, Islamabad Tuesday at 09:00 am.
In the Senate session, newly-elected senators will take oath and an election for the constitutional post of chairman Senate and deputy chairman Senate will be held, The News International reported.
The presiding officer nominated by the prime minister will administer the oath to the newly-elected senators. Members elected in the bye-elections of the Senate on vacant seats will also be administered the oath.
In the house of 96 members, 85 senators will take oath as the elections on 11 seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were postponed by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The Senate elections were held last week except in KP, where the polls were postponed as the provincial Assembly remained incomplete following the non-administration of oaths to members elected on the reserved seats.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which governs the province, has said the Election Commission’s decision to postpone the elections amounted to “poll robbery”.
It said that the delay was a “conspiracy” to tamper with the numbers in the upper house.
For top posts in the Senate, the Pakistan Peoples Party has nominated former prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani for the chairman Senate slot. The PTI has not nominated its candidate for the post of chairman Senate to challenge the joint candidate of the ruling coalition amid its opposition to the polls for the top slot.
Gilani — the nominee for the post of chairman Senate — has the support of 24 PPP senators, 19 of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), four of Balochistan Awami Party, three senators of Awami National Party, three independents and one senator of the National Party, taking the total tally to 54.
If three Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan senators and five Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam senators also support Gilani, then the tally of votes will be 62, which suggests that the ruling coalition nominee will be in a comfortable position to be elected.
On the other hand, PTI has the support of 20 senators, one each from BNP and PML-Q, which brings the total to 22. If the JUI-F chooses to sit with the opposition, then it would have a strength of 27 members.
The PML-N has not nominated anyone for the post of deputy chairman. The PML-N is mulling a woman lawmaker for the post.